Melania Trump says Donald doesn't get 'enough credit'

Her husband is one of the more polarizing figures in U.S. politics today, but Melania Trump said she fell in love with The Donald because of his "amazing mind" and "great energy."

"We are our own people. I'm my own person, he's his own person...I don't want to change him, he doesn't want to change me," she said.

Since her billionaire businessman husband entered the presidential race a little less than a year ago, Melania Trump, 45, has had a limited public role, appearing sparingly on the campaign trail and rarely speaking when she does.

New York mayoral hopeful Michael Bloomberg, real estate developer Donald Trump, and model Melania Knauss chat together at the Bloomberg pre-dinner party for the White House Correspondent's DInner at the Washington Hilton, Saturday April 28, 2001 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Bloomberg, John Harrington)

Donald Trump, left, watches a match between Roger Federer, of Switzerland, and Robby Ginepri, of the USA, with model Melania Knauss at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Melania Knauss, left, and Donald Trump arrive at the opening night party for Britney Spears' restaurant Nyla, at the Dylan Hotel in New York, Thursday, June 27, 2002. (AP Photo/John-Marshall Mantel)

**FILE**Donald Trump and Melania Knauss pose as they arrive for a charity event on board the Queen Mary 2 on April 24, 2004 in New York. The couple weds Saturday evening, Jan. 22, 2005, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

Melania Trump poses for pictures as she arrives at the Costume Institute Gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Monday , May 2, 2005. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

Donald Trump and his wife Melania Knauss wait for the start of the showing of the Oscar de la Renta spring 2006 collection, Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, during Fashion Week in New York. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)

Donald Trump with his wife Melania arrive at The Jazz at Lincoln Center for a gala event celebrating Qatar Airways' inaugural flights to New York, Thursday, June 28, 2007, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

Melania Trump attend a screening of "The Duchess" hosted by The Cinema Society, Chanel and Vogue in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

Donald Trump is joined by his wife Melania in the spin room following the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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But with her husband fresh off his third early-state win in Nevada, Trump sat for an interview with MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski in which she confronted the torrent of criticism that has come her husband's way.

"It's normal that will come up, we are prepared for that," Trump said after Brzezinski ticked off a list of jabs and names that the Republican presidential frontrunner has been called.

"We have thick skin and we know that people will judge him and people will call names and they don't give him enough credit. From June that he announced, they don't give him enough credit."

Melania Trump was also asked how her husband treats women he works with, given his rhetoric surrounding women, and his high-profile dustup with Fox's Megyn Kelly.

Women in Trump's business, she said, are "treated equal."

"He treats women the same as men. He will tell you what is in his heart, what he thinks," she said. He will not hold it back if you are a woman. You are human. A woman or a man, it's no different."

If Donald Trump is elected president, Melania Trump would become the first first lady born outside the United States since Louisa Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams. She is also Trump's third wife — Ronald Reagan has been the only divorced U.S. president.

She hasn't been on the campaign trail much, she said, because she's focused on raising the couple's 9-year-old son, Barron. She told Brzezinski she wants to keep his life "as normal as possible."

"I'm a full time mom and I love it, so I decided not to be on the campaign so much but I support my husband 100%," she said.

Faced with some of her husband's most controversial stances, including his position on immigration, Melania Trump was unwavering in her support.

Melania Trump, who was born in what is now Slovenia, said that she didn't feel Trump "insulted the Mexicans," and that "he didn't talk about everybody, he talked about illegal immigrants."

When Brzezinski pointed out that she herself is an immigrant, asking if Donald Trump had "gone too far," Melania said that she "follow[s] the law."

"I followed the law the way supposed to be, I never thought to stay here without papers," she said.

Trump and her husband don't always see eye-to-eye though, she said.

"Do I agree all the time with him? No I don't and I tell him that," she said when asked about her husband's word-choice. "I tell him my opinions, I tell him what I think. Sometimes he listens, sometimes he don't [sic]."